Hello
by indescribablyBee
Summary: No summary, but be near tissues....and listen to the song Hello by Evanescence while you read...Rating way just in case.


"I will always love you Derek…" 

Derek groaned inaudibly. How his head did hurt. He tried to open his eyes, letting in a crack of bright light that burned into his pupils, causing him to shut them immediately. Scattered voices traveled into his ears, piercing his aching brain like a thousand tiny pins.

"…Get him under…"

"…Possible concussion…"

"…Might never wake up…"

Sobs and a wail echoed in Derek's mind, and briefly he wondered who could be so sad. Darkness clouded his muddled thoughts, and Derek felt the pain subside softly. He let out a slow breath and sank into the darkness.

——

Beeping. A slow, steady beeping was all Derek could hear. He took a shallow breath, flinching as his chest constricted painfully. The throbbing in his head returned, though somewhat muted, and he lay still, as he tried to overcome the wave of dizziness that had swiftly swallowed him as soon has he had dared to breath.

Another beep. Then two. Then one again, as the beeping became slightly sporadic, and Derek tried to calm the panic that was spreading through his veins. He tried to move his arm, and found he could not. Something was stopping it, and the panic increased.

He opened his eyes, fully prepared for the bright and glaring light that surprisingly never came. He gazed up at the ceiling. There was a small light in the center, giving off a dimness that barely lit the room.

He tilted his head, seeing bandages up and down his entire arm, and a small cuff that held it to the bed. To his right he looked next, and was surprised to see a small girl waiting there, staring at him with the biggest brown eyes he had ever seen. The biggest, most familiar, brown eyes he had ever seen.

"Smarti…" He choked out. She looked at him. Just looked, before letting out a choked sob.

"Smerek," Marti looked so much older to Derek's eyes. Sadder. Panic seized him. What had happened? "Oh Smerek! We thought that…you didn't…we've waited …" She sobbed squeezing his hand tightly.

"How…" Derek coughed, his voice hoarse. "…Long?"

"Eight years," She whispered out, barely audible. The sound was like a harsh whip to Derek's ears.

"What…what happened?" Derek looked behind her as she cried, staring at the clock on the wall. He could not see the face, but to think that Marti was sixteen tore at him, and he could not bear to look into her eyes.

"Don't you remember? The accident? You were with Casey…" She stopped suddenly and let out a particularly agonized sob.

Derek thought back, to before the pain and the light. A lone tear slipped down his cheek as he remembered what had happened. Casey's screams echoed in his mind, and tore at his heart.

"She…" Another tear slipped down his cheek as he tried to convey the question that would not seem to come out. Marti shook her head and let out a pained sob.

"She had…she left…a last wish…that you…be told…when you woke up…She didn't…last an hour…and we…you didn't…we thought you would never…wake up…" Marti sobbed into his arm and Derek looked at her in intense pain.

"Smarti," He coughed. "What did she wish?" Marti lifted her eyes to him.

"You…she said…she…loved you…and that…she'd…wait for you!" Marti stood then. "Oh Derek! I just…I can't! Good-bye," She kissed him on the cheek, and ran out of the room.

Derek did not watch her go. He barely registered her leaving. He thought only of Casey, and though only of her waiting for him. He stared up at the ceiling.

He stared at the ceiling when the doctors came in. And when they shined a light in his eyes, he only closed them softly and then resumed staring when it was gone. And when George and Nora came to the doorway, and stared at him, he stared only at the ceiling.

——

Alone. That was what Derek was. No one could come visit him now that he had woken up. He had woken up, and Casey never would…

Derek's heart was shattered. She would wait for him…

He sat slowly, hearing the machine next to him let out an angry beep and then no noise at all. He pulled the IV from his arm, and the monitors from his chest. He pulled the clothes out of the backpack next to his bed, and shouldered it slowly.

He walked slowly, shakily, and determined out of the room. No one stopped him. No one noticed him leaving.

The bandages on his arm had disappeared. The pain in his head was gone. He turned and could see the Hospital deep in the distance, and he kept walking.

Slowly, he came to their spot. The flowers were in full bloom, and the trees had gotten much taller. The lake sparkled brightly, as the sun set slowly.

And there, on the rock, she waited. Her shoes sat next to her, and she dipped her toes in the lake, watching the ripples spread out and about.

A slow smile broke out across his face as he sat down next to her. She looked up at him and smiled brightly. He kissed her softly on the cheek.

"I waited," She said, the sky lighting up in pink and gold.

"I know," Derek answered.

"Are you ready?" She looked up at him, so innocent, and happy, and he nodded.

"Almost…" He took her hand, and played softly with the ring he put there. She looked at him, the smile fading slightly as he watched her.

Slowly, he leaned in, and brushed his lips to hers. Pulling back, he smiled at her grin.

"I love you," He whispered, and she leaned into him softly, watching the sun slowly set beyond the edge of the lake.

""I love you too," She whispered back as the sun dipped and the last sliver of light started to fade from sight.

Derek stood, and pulled her gently to her feet.

"I'm ready now," He said, and she nodded.

"Me too," She held tightly to his hand, and they stepped out onto the lake, fading softly with the last rays of sun.

The pink sky soon turned purple, and then darkened into night. A blanket of stars sprinkled the sky, and the blue moon shone brightly.

Small flowers bloomed where Derek and Casey had been sitting, and asserted their presence beautifully, during the day and night, and all the seasons, though the two lovers had disappeared.

A ring glinted in the middle of small flower. And the wind blew petals around over the lake. And as the trees bent and swayed, soft birdsong echoed among them. And the sun shone down upon the ring and made it sparkle like the lake…

"And I will always love you, Casey…" 

——

**B/N:** "Hello"- by Evanescence


End file.
